Monthly Archives: February 2011

If you've never had the opportunity, no, privilege, to work with
goats, I highly recommend doing so. For the past couple of weeks,
the 2nd year students are becoming acclimated with
anesthesiology in ruminant species. In order to properly
anesthetize and monitor a goat, one must first learn to rodeo the
goat. These goats have attitudes. If you don't believe me, ask my
fellow classmate who, while leaning forward to give his goat friend
a warm, goat-hug, received a horn to the face, instead. If the
attitude and horns aren't enough, toss in some lice and
simultaneous, ear-piercing bleating from 15 goats in a small,
basement room. I know what you're thinking, "Jaime, I thought you
said it was a privilege to work with goats? Why should I get goat
experience on my vet application if I might get a horn to the
face?" As with any animal we work with, there will be dangers. Yes,
even with "Princess" the 5 lb. Chihuahua. However, after the goat
settles down...
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I feel old. I know, I know. Everyone out there is
thinking, what in the world is this guy talking about? He is
only 24-years-old, and he is complaining about being old. He
is not even halfway through his twenties with many, many years
ahead of him. Why would he complain about being old?
Someday he would love to be back in his twenties again.
What's up with that? (Any SNL fans out there?) That is unless
you are in high school like my sister, then I do seem old.
But I digress.
Originally, I had planned on discussing life outside of vet
school. Yes I try to have a life outside of the confines and
tests of second year (operative word in this sentence being
try). I was going to discuss how my wife and I never miss a
home Aggie basketball game (the Ags have won 4 straight, Whoop!),
or how we had a lovely Valentine's Day picnic at the pond by the
Bush '41 Library. But then I made ...
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Last week, any hour that I was not sitting in class, I found
myself isolated at my desk in my bedroom. On Wednesday evening, I
was studying small animal dermatology (for one of my two tests that
week). As I was repeating the four types of feline allergy/pruritus
reaction patterns, I heard the jingling of my dog's collar as he
scratched his face with his back leg. This is a common noise that
usually doesn't alarm me; however, that night I happened to be
studying dermatology. You see, as vet students, we have an awful
habit of projecting whatever conditions we're learning about onto
our animals. I actually heard from a doctor at the student health
center that med students become hypochondriacs too, but that's a
different story…
As I listened to the jangle of the tags on Wheeler's collar, I
thought to myself, "Why is my dog so itchy?" The longer the noise
continued, the further my thought process progressed. "My dog has
to be pruritic (itchy) for ...
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There comes a time in every person's life when it is time to
figure out your path in life and just stick to it. …
Right? Well, sometimes. I am the kind of person who has
a general idea of what I want to be when I grow up, and then I play
the rest by ear. I have a goal - "Plan A" - I want to become
a board certified zoo veterinarian and then later go into a private
practice or an academic setting. But if circumstances change,
I have a "Plan B," "Plan C," and "Plan Z." It's just a good
idea.
But right now, I get to play and explore the many avenues of
veterinary medicine. I am a third year student; I finally
reached the point where I can choose my electives. As third
year students, we are required to take a minimum of 14 hours of
electives, spread throughout the year. Most electives are
worth one or two hours of course credit. I just couldn't help
myself, so I signed up for 18 hours.&nbs...
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What made you passionate about veterinary medicine? What
made you want to become a veterinarian? For most of us, our
love of the profession probably started with our encounters with
our hometown veterinarians - the first time you brought your new
puppy or kitten in for its first physical exam, talking with the
vet that came to float your horses' teeth or help with your cattle,
or working in high school or college as a kennel caretaker or vet
tech.
But a veterinarian is more than an animal doctor. In towns
all across Texas, veterinarians play a critical role in the
community as public health officers, leaders, animal welfare
advocates, emergency response officials, and more. At
A&M, we're trained not only in diagnosing and treating disease
in our patients, but also in public health, zoonotic disease,
business development, and disaster planning. Did you know
that your average veterinarian has probably received mo...
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